The present invention generally relates to travelling suction cleaning apparatus for removing lint, dust and other light material from room and machine surfaces in textile mills. More particularly, the present invention pertains to travelling suction cleaning apparatus having mobile lint collection chambers and means for automatically removing the accumulated lint from the collection chambers.
One example of a prior art travelling suction cleaning apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,202 issued Dec. 5, 1961 to G. B. Holtzclaw. Several travelling suction cleaners are supported on several transversely spaced, endless trackways. The trackways are supported above respective rows of spinning machines in a room of a textile mill. The Holtzclaw patent discloses a travelling cleaner unit having a lint collection box having a hinged discharge door that faces laterally of the direction of travel of the cleaner. Waste removal chambers are located adjacent the ends of the trackways on which the cleaners move, and the waste removal chambers are all connected to a common ductway that leads to a suction collecting unit. As a travelling cleaner is driven around the end of its trackway, the discharge door of the collection box thereof is momentarily aligned with the mouth of the removed chamber; and the hinged door is then opened for a short time so that the accumulated lint may be blown from the collection box into the waste removal chamber.
Another example of a textile machine cleaning apparatus that is provided with means for automatically removing the lint from a travelling cleaner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,425 granted Mar. 12, 1968 to R. L. Black, Jr. The Black patent discloses a travelling suction cleaner that includes two substantially cylindrical collection chambers located on the same side of the support trackway. Each chamber has a exhaust filter therein for stripping lint from intake air. Conduit means are provided for interconnecting the lint collection chambers with a vertical lint discharge passageway. As the travelling cleaner is brought to a stop at a lint removal station, a discharge tube is lowered into abutment with the discharge passageway. Partial vacuum is then applied to remove the lint from the collection chambers through the discharge tube into a lint withdrawal duct that leads to a central collecting unit.
Yet another example of a suction cleaning apparatus for textile mills is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,463 granted Jan. 24, 1967 to L. R. McEachern. The McEachern patent discloses a pneumatic collection system including collection hoods that are mounted adjacent crane trackways above the paths of travel of air inlet and suction chambers. The hoods are disposed to be closely adjacent the filter screens when the cleaner units are moved below the hoods. A single main collection station is provided and includes a suction fan connected to all of the hoods by a conduit structure. The collection station also includes apparatus for removing lint from the air flowing from the several hoods.
As indicated hereinafter, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention is similar to and constitutes an improvement over the cleaning apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,103 granted Apr. 12, 1966 to J. F. King, Jr. The King Patent is owned by the assignee of the present invention. The cleaning apparatus of the present invention is also similar to and an improvement over the "Bahnson Combo-Jet Travelling Cleaner" that is manufactured and sold by the assignee of the present application; such cleaner is disclosed in the Envirotech Catalog 40-A, which Catalog is entitled, "Bahnson Combo-Jet Travelling Cleaner" and is marked with the date of March, 1978. The travelling cleaner shown in these two references includes a pair of transversly spaced collection chambers confined partially within cylindrical canisters located on opposite sides of the trackway. Lint is sucked into the collection chambers through suction trunks that respectively depend from the canisters. To remove the lint from the collection chambers, the canisters are provided with access doors at the bottoms of the canisters. In operation, when the lint is to be removed, the travelling cleaner is brought to a stop and the accumulated mass of lint is removed manually by opening the access doors and pulling the lint into an underlying receptacle.